Let it go
by Cambria-Aire
Summary: When Rukia's hollow appears Ichigo feels helpless. At a loss he reluctantly gives Hichigo control of his body hoping he'll know how to bring Rukia back. ?IchiRukiHichiDaruki? M simply because I wasn't sure. "Bleach: Fade to Black" Spoiler-ish! R&R please!


A/N-This is fanfic I wrote after seeing miniminimini89's amazing picture on DeviantArt- /d4b9y9r

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><p><em>Their small hands were slipping from my grasp, I tried to hold on tighter but they still slipped away. I sat helpless and watched as the turned from children to adults and then they were gone. "No" I whispered feeling my heart constrict, then a shattering scream rips from my chest and darkness filled its place.<em>

I woke up with tears flowing down my cheeks and sobs shaking my body. I sat up wiping the tears from my face, locking away the sadness as I tried to regain my bearings. I was at home…in bed…with my husband. I looked over at the orange head of hair that stuck out from underneath the blanket. A smile touched my lips for a split second but was wiped away by the darkness that threatened to engulf me. I brought my knees to my chest and pressed my forehead against them taking deep breaths. Why was this happening years later, I had accepted their death, I had thought that I had moved on. So why was I dreaming about the two children who I had felt were my own? **Tch! they were like your children, how could you move on?**That voice! So much like my own but with a cold metallic echo added to it. Ever since that night it had been a quiet whisper in the back of my mind, now it was clear. A part of me recognized it as the hollow that had taken control of my body, but the other part suppressed that thought believing that Ichigo had cleansed me of it thoroughly. I looked over at him and I reached out and ran my fingers through Ichigo's hair; he rolled over opening his eyes. We stared at each other for a second before he propped himself up onto his elbow. "Hey" I whispered hoping to hide my uncontrollable emotions.

"Hey" He replied looking me up and down as if searching for something and he frowned when he apparently didn't find it. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine" I lied, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you up." **How heartwarming…it almost makes me want to gag!** I froze horrified by what I was hearing, "No." I whispered, her voice was becoming clearer with each passing second. **Yes, you can feel me getting closer can't you?**

"Rukia?" Ichigo asked worried, he tried to grab my hand but I pushed him away…a little too rough. He fell off the other side of the bed and I cringed when I heard his head hit the wall with a sickening thump. I stared at him wide-eyed, I suddenly had the urge to punch and kick and scream at him. I climbed out of bed and ran out the door. I couldn't let him see me like this! I had to get away from him before I ended up hurting him, and possibly lose him. I stumbled down the hall and into the bathroom slamming the door shut behind me.

Why was this happening, I would never hurt Ichigo. Where had this violence come from? And what would it do to our relationship? Depressing thoughts gripped my mind and images of Ichigo leaving me clouded my vision. I had lost my sister, Kaien Shiba, and the children I had considered my own, I couldn't lose Ichigo too. **Well then you'd better regain control because I'm getting closer.** She taunted filling my head with her chilling laugh. I tried to do as she said but the more I thought about losing Ichigo the worse I became. I couldn't stop shaking and once again I started crying. I looked up into the mirror and gasped, I was pale and something black and inky was crawling into the whites of my eyes. I looked down and saw my night gown turn white and start fraying around the edges. Was this what used to happen to Ichigo before he controlled his hollow? My vision became fuzzy as the ink reached my irises, and the last thing I heard was the faint whisper of **finally!**

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><p>What had happened? The only time Rukia ever hit me was when I was depressed and needed to be brought back to my senses or if we were playing around. I heard a dull thud as something hit the floor in the bathroom. I scrambled to my feet and raced down the hall. "Rukia?" I called through the bathroom door, no answer. I tried turning the door knob but it was locked, I shoved roughly against the door breaking its hinges. Rukia lay on the face down on the floor, I fell to my knees and quickly turned her over frantically searching for her pulse. I finally felt the small throbbing of her vein and a breathed out deeply. It was only then that I noticed the little changes about her. She had always been pale but now she was just pure white, her normally raven black hair was blue-ish gray and her nightgown was replaced by a tattered garment that I recognized all too well. It was the dress she had been wearing when the hollow had taken control of her body.<p>

**Hmm delicious, her hollow has come out to play. Looks like you didn't entirely get rid of it, King. But that's fine I can live with this new Rukia.**

_Shut up! You won't be doing anything, now leave me alone._Rukia shifted as she started to regain consciousness.

**Oh, she's stirring! I wonder what her eyes look like. I bet they're just gorgeous.**

_Shut up!_ She groaned and grabbed her head as if she had a terrible head-ache, and then she looked straight at me. I froze; her Irises were almost white with a purple hint to them and her scleras were pure black. She smiled wickedly and jumped past me making sure to push me to the ground as she passed. "Damn it!" I growled running after her. I stopped outside when I lost track of her, I closed my eyes hoping to seek out her Reiatsu but it had changed and it was difficult to find. **I knew it! I just knew her eyes would be gorgeous! And she's feisty, I'm going to enjoy her very much!**

_Would you just shut up! I can't concentrate when you're screaming in my head!_

**Let me take over. We're both hollows so I'll be able to find her faster than you can.** He was probably right, but it went against everything for me to let him take control. **Come on King, I promise no funny business.**

_You promise you'll help me find Rukia?_

**I promise.**

_And that when you do you'll help me get her back?_

**Yes!**

_Tonight?_

**Yes, King, yes! I promise you'll have your queen back before the sun rises!** With that final promise I reluctantly relinquished my control over my body. _Don't make me regret this_I warned one last time.

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><p>I savored the feel of having a physical body again. When Ichigo drew on my power I was able to share the body, but this was completely different and it felt too good for words. As always when I took over his body the appearance changed, my finger nails were black, skin paper white, with hair to match, and of course my clothes. Instead of the pajamas that Ichigo had been wearing, a white version of Ichigo's Bankai shihakushō with the standard soul reaper hakama also white were now in their place. I contemplated mutiny for second but decide to keep my promise hoping that it might make Ichigo more willing to let me out more often. I stretched my senses outward trying to detect the beautiful hollow that had taken over Rukia's body. It didn't take long to find the darker version of Rukia's Reiatsu that Ichigo and I were so familiar with. I grinned broadly and used my advanced flash step to get to the river. She sat at the bank looking out over the river, "Hey beautiful" I called teasingly she jumped up and turned to me. She looked scared for a second then anger replaced it. "Who are you?" She hissed, I took a step forward smiling, "You're not the orange haired man, Ichigo that this girl fawns over. You're more like me, so who are you?"<p>

"I don't normally give my name so freely, but for you I'll make an exception. Ichigo and Rukia refer to me as Hichigo? And might I ask your name, I hope it's as beautiful as you are." I decided a little flirting couldn't hurt anything, after all I had until sunrise to woo this gorgeous creature and get Rukia back.

"I have no name." she growled.

"How bout I give ya one, havin' a name always makes ya feel better."

"I don't care to have a name! All that matter is that I'm free of that wretched girl."

"Daruki." I said pretending that I hadn't heard her. She narrowed her eyes and a growl vibrated deep in her chest. "Mmm feisty" I mocked.

"Where did you come up with such a ridiculous name?"

"The same way Ichigo and Rukia came up with mine. Ya see basically I'm Hollow Ichigo take the H and tack it to the beginning and ya got Hichigo. Harukia just doesn't have the same pleasant ring to it, so I took dark and Rukia and merged them creating Daruki." She had my throat in her hand in an instant, I was almost surprised by her speed but I knew she had only caught me off guard and that I was still the stronger one, "I don't need your stupid name!" She shrieked squeezing my throat tighter. Suddenly there was flicker in her eyes, "No!" She screamed but her voice was different, it was clear! "Don't hurt him!" So Rukia was fighting her hollow, I wouldn't have expected anything less of her. Her grip on my throat loosened, "Shut up! Get out of here you weak little wench!" The hollow screamed. I pulled myself out of her loose grasp and wrapped my arms securely around Daruki pinning her arms to her sides. She thrashed in my arms and called me every name in the book but I never let go. "What were you born from?" I whispered in her ear. "What are you talking about?" She shrieked struggling harder trying to free herself from my iron grip. "I was born from Ichigo's killer instincts. Each of us inner hollows is born from something that the soul reaper won't accept about themselves, and we become the manifestation of that desire. So tell me what were you born from?" She froze in my arms and looked over her shoulder at me, I saw something in her eyes that looked like sadness, "I was born from her emotions. When she lost those children she never was able to move on and a little piece of me stayed feeding off of her unused emotions." I mentally slapped myself in the face at the obvious answer. Rukia never showed any sort of emotion, I tried to think back to the last time she had released her emotions and all I could come up with was the time that the children she had loved so dearly died. I leaned forward once more and whispered in her ear, "Rukia, let it go. Release your emotions and accept them." If she could completely accept her desire to let her emotions free, there would be no need for the hollow and it would disappear. I was thankful that Ichigo couldn't hear this thought as deep as he was in his inner world. However, I doubted he would ever be able to accept his desire to kill anyways.

Daruki writhed in my arms once again and I reinforced my strength on her, I grabbed each of her hands in mine and brought them to her chest to give her less leverage. It nearly killed me to go against a fellow hollow but my promise to Ichigo and my own desire to have the real Rukia back won over. "Come on Rukia fight it! If ya just let go of your emotions you'll be free." I watched as a single tear fell from her eye followed by more. Rukia's true color started returning to her slowly, it was as if something was sucking the hollow out and into her hands. The more Rukia accepted her emotions the more color she regained until she was completely back to normal. A purple light pulsed in our hands; I released my hold and waited for Rukia to release whatever was in her hands. For some reason Rukia seemed reluctant, I snaked one hand around her waist and the other grasped one of her hands. Gently I pried them apart whispering, "Let it go." I watched sadly as the glowing purple butterfly looking thing floated away, a part of me would miss Daruki but another part was happy to have Rukia back. "Thank-you Hichigo." She murmured and without warning collapsed in my arms, I watched as her white robe diminished and blew away in the slight breeze like sand revealing her normal nightgown underneath. "She's all yours King." I said retreating back into his inner world.


End file.
